choosing right antenna

jgray972001 · 4-Jan-2012, 8:26 PM

hello, looking to drop current DirectTV for antenna, TVFool profile is

http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wr...7fb96e4d559eb4

I have an old antenna pole that stands roughly 30-35 feet high on the south side of my house, looking to put up antenna to watch local stations like ABC, NBC, CBS, and PBS, if I can pull in anything else it would be a bonus. I see everything I find points me to a large directional with a pre-amp, just curious if that is correct and what antenna would be recommended, planning on installing myself.

Is a large directional antenna stationary or can it move b/c I see the signals come from all directions?

The directTv comes in now and is sent to 4 rooms of the house, I would like it to go to 3 rooms for sure and is the splitter they use sufficient for the antenna feed, I would think it needs replacing?

Thanks for any advice you can give me!!

GroundUrMast · 5-Jan-2012, 12:32 AM

An NBC affiliate looks as if it will be the most challenging 'get' in your situation.

Using an Antennas Direct XG-91 for UHF and an Antennacraft Y10713 or Winegard YA1713 for reception of high-VHF you can receive CBS, MyN, ABC, Fox, PBS, WorldTV and Create networks. You would use a UVSJ to combine the two antennas, and then an Antennas Direct CPA-18 preamp to overcome cable and splitter losses.

Point the XG-91 at about 287° compass. Point the h-VHF antenna at about 266°.

You can try aiming the XG-91 at KDLV, real channel 26, 350° to see if you can receive their NBC and Universal Sports feeds. If that fails, I can only suggest investigating a taller tower. If you see a reliable signal, you could add a rotator (for the second third and forth viewer to complain that the antenna is aimed wrong) or a second XG-91 dedicated to that one signal. An A/B switch or external tuner would be used to select the KDLV signal... combining the two UHF antennas into a common down-lead would require commercial grade CATV head-end system components.

jgray972001 · 5-Jan-2012, 2:54 PM

Thanks for the quick reply, I do have a couple more questions and forgive me if they sound silly, just diving into this free TV world.

on my thread from TVFool I have channels listed at the top that aren't listed with a network affiliation, for example

K32HI-D - which on antennaweb says this is CBS - Lincoln, NE
K43FX-D - ' ' CBS - Lincoln, NE
KHGP-LP - ' ' ABC - Kearney, NE
K33GX - ' ' NBC - Sioux Falls, SD

Can you explain if these you get or what are the call signs for the channels you have below?

My tower is metal, an old existing from the times before cable, sat, etc, so will these two antennas have to be mounted so far apart or can the be on the same tower?

jgray972001 · 11-Jan-2012, 7:54 PM

Please help, did my last question not include the right information, if it didn't I would be happy to include what I can, just want to make sure I understand this before I spend the money on equipment

)

GroundUrMast · 11-Jan-2012, 8:35 PM

I think I understand your question...

K32HI, for example, is a fill-in or translator station for KOLN. The displayed call sign will be KOLN, with occasional station identification of their translator stations as required by FCC rules.

KHGP has no translators or fill-in transmitters. They will identify as KHGP.

You can find a wealth of information for most of the call signs at http://www.rabbitears.info/market.php

Two antennas can be on the same mast. Try to maintain at least four feet separation. In most cases, the UHF antenna will be at the top, the H-VHF four or more feet below. It's OK to try variations on this to 'tune' your system for best performance.

Here is a bit more on rotators vs. alternatives: http://forum.tvfool.com/showthread.php?t=2882

jgray972001 · 11-Jan-2012, 8:58 PM

Thanks, so you think the K33GX station, an affiliate of KDLV or NBC will be the toughest to get?

GroundUrMast · 11-Jan-2012, 9:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jgray972001

Thanks, so you think the K33GX station, an affiliate of KDLV or NBC will be the toughest to get?

I was referring to the digital signal on real channel 26, directly from the primary KDLV transmitter in HD, 1080i plus the second sub-channel. The analog, SD-480i signal from their translator, K33GX should be easier to receive.

Electron · 14-Jan-2012, 4:22 AM

For reception of these Digital tv stations/channels. K48CH UHF channel 24 NBC and The CW. KPTP-LP UHF channel 31 ABC , http://metvnetwork.com , http://www.thistv.com and a Independent. K30BP UHF channel 30 CBS and Azteca Tv. KXNE-DT UHF channel 19 PBS. K32HI-D UHF channel 32 CBS and MyNetwork. K50IO-D UHF channel 50 PBS. Install a Winegard HD9095P antenna with a Kitztec , Ultra Low Noise - KT-200-COAX Tv Antenna Booster Remote Power Coax Fed preamp. Aimed at 110 degree magnetic compass. . http://www.winegardirect.com , http://www.kitztech.com . I find out what is on the tv stations at , http://www.wikipedia.com and http://rabbitears.info

Electron · 14-Jan-2012, 5:01 AM

For reception of these Digital tv stations/channels. KMNE-DT VHF channel 7 PBS. K43FX-D UHF channel 43 CBS and MyNetwork. KHGP-LP UHF channel 27 ABC and FOX. Install a Winegard HD7698P antenna with No preamp , aimed at 276 degree magnetic compass.

Electron · 14-Jan-2012, 5:10 AM

This is 2 separate antenna reception systems. The 2 separate antenna systems Will Not be connected together on to one coax. The 2 separate antenna systems coaxes will go to a Remote control A/B antenna switch at the location of the tv. To select either antenna is easy , push the button on the hand held remote control. http://www.radioshack.com , model number 15-1968